Letters: Are U.S. workers just plain lazy?

File photo by The RepublicanA field at The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts farm in Hadley.

Are U.S. workers just plain lazy?
I find it extremely frustrating as a man working two jobs to read on the front page of The Republican about how many are out of work in this state. Yet on page two, there’s a story about how most Americans won’t do farm work.

Big surprise. As long as you offer people 99 weeks of unemployment benefits why would they take a job they don’t want? Very few of us like our jobs but God bless us – we do it. It is absurd for taxpayers to carry people for two years when there are jobs out there, regardless if its in their “field.’”
--MICHAEL McMAHON
--Agawam

Sales tax rollback will hurt middle class
Don’t let Carla Howell’s promise of more money in our pockets and less government waste fool anyone. Rolling back the sales tax is yet another assault on middle-class families.

Howell and her libertarian friends live in a fantasy world if they truly believe the cuts that will be made to state government will benefit the middle class in the commonwealth. Sure, programs will be cut, but not the ones they claim. Politicians (as well as their constituents) don’t have the stomach for making hard decisions, so they will take the easy way out and cut those programs they can get away with cutting.

What will get hit hardest? Those services many of us rely on to provide a decent quality of life. Libraries will scale back their hours as well as their collections; state parks will be under-funded, under-maintained, and cost more to access; our children’s class sizes will get bigger; and since the Legislature has proven it has no qualms with hiking fees when “necessary,” any business we have to conduct with the state (auto inspections, hunting licenses, marriage licenses, etc.) will cost more.

Faced with such conditions, younger workers who actually care about their family’s overall well-being will flee the commonwealth. And, at the expense of the commonwealth’s economy, they’ll move to places where an emphasis is placed on community values and a combination of personal and shared responsibility; concepts with which Howell seems unable to identify. How else do you explain her zeal for denying the rest of us a decent place to live just so she can collect an extra $688 a year?
--CHRIS FRASIER
--Agawam

Music series boosts downtown’s image
Thank you to all those people involved for a great summer of music here in Springfield! The 10 Thursday nights at Stearn’s Square (Bike Night) were very enjoyable. I attended with a few friends; we’re all geezers and retired. We have a brew or two, enjoy the music, admire the bikes and talk to the bikers. The music is good and everyone is pleasant and happy.

Eventually we head over to Theodore’s for more brew, music and conversation, this time with musicians. Thank you Theodore’s for booking the likes of Janet Ryan, Marc Nomad, the Instigators, Tommy Whalen and Zayne Couch, all great local musicians. One need not always go to Northampton for music. And thank you to The Republican’s Donnie Moorhouse for providing insight into upcoming musical events in Thursday’s “Weekend” guide.
--TOM MITCHELL
--Springfield

Don’t always blame the ‘government’
Some news stations like Fox perpetuate public negativity and others, like Rush Limbaugh, have nothing positive to say.

If you’re employed how about being positive and appreciative. Go to work every day with an attitude to try to do the best you can. Some days will be better than others. If you don’t have a job, make it your “job” to get out there with a positive attitude to look for employment and keep at it, you may be successful. Yes, the economy is tough right now and many are not working or working for less, but how about the positive.

We now have a health care policy to cover most individuals and our kids can’t be denied health care for pre-existing conditions. There are free immunizations and preventive care for most others. Take advantage of it.

Credit card companies can’t jack up rates overnight and banks are being regulated so that people who really can’t afford to buy something won’t to get themselves into a jam.

Yes, the government isn’t perfect and some in Congress need to go – both Democrats and Republicans – so get out and vote and if you don’t vote, do some of us favor, don’t bother to complain.
--CLAIRE CLINI
--Wilbraham